Changing The Game
by AlwaysACritic
Summary: This is a sequel to Aftermath, which was a short episode tag to 5x16 that revealed how Lisbon felt when she realized she was in love with Jane. This will explore the changes Lisbon makes as a result. This is strong Lisbon taking charge of all aspects of her life and deciding that she has put her love life on hold for too long. I plan to update weekly.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a sequel to Aftermath, which was a very short episode tag to 5x16. Aftermath tells you a lot about Lisbon's state of mind at the beginning of this piece, but it is not necessary to read that first. This can stand alone and will be a multi-chapter story which I plan to update weekly. While I may occasionally give you Jane's point of view, this is primarily Lisbon's story so I will focus mostly on her thoughts and feelings. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist. This is just fan fiction.**

Two weeks had passed since Lorelei shot Jason Lenin and disappeared. They passed rather quietly and uneventfully. Jane had stayed holed up in his attic for the most part, only venturing down when summoned or for the occasional cup of tea. The cases they got were fairly straightforward, which limited the necessity of them spending much time together. He had shown little inclination to seek Lisbon out, and that was just fine with her. She was still trying to figure out how to navigate in this new reality she suddenly found herself in. While she was slowly coming to terms with the realization that she was in love with Jane, she didn't feel quite steady on her feet yet.

She had done a lot of thinking since she discovered her feelings. Strategizing to come up with ways to keep them from impacting her job was a priority for her now. When she looked back at the events since Jane broke Lorelei out of prison, she realized that some changes need to be made. His reckless pursuit of Red John had gotten a security guard shot. It had put Rigsby in danger. It even made her an accomplice to murder. Going back even further, she had to wonder if her feelings had played a role in Jane talking her into faking her death after his six month Vegas stint. She hoped not, but she couldn't be sure. That decision indirectly led to the death of Luther Wainwright. While she and Wainwright had never been friends, he was a good man and dedicated to the CBI. He did not deserve to die the way that he did, just like Agent Darcy didn't deserve a mental breakdown.

Regardless of her feelings for Jane, and regardless of her desire to be supportive and help him find closure, her first priority had to be to protect her team and the public. That was her job. She was Senior Special Agent Teresa Lisbon, Head of the Serious Crimes Unit of the CBI, not some love struck schoolgirl. She would make the changes that needed to be made.

She would no longer be a doormat. She hated to admit it, but she now realized that was exactly what she had become. The fact that Jane actually laughed when she gave him an ultimatum showed her that Jane realized it as well, and had likely known it for a very long time. That was bad…very, very bad. He knew that there were no consequences for his actions. He just assumed now that she would cover for him no matter what he did. She had done it so many times before that he no longer seriously doubted her.

Oh, he would act contrite and apologize occasionally when his behavior was especially bad. If she was really pissed, he would be on his best behavior for a few days and go out of his way to bring her coffee and other treats. But the second she forgave him, he would be right back to his old tricks. She was startled to realize that she was like an abused woman who kept going back to her abusive husband after each beating, believing in his tearful apologies and declarations of love and promises that things would be different going forward. She had always felt so sorry for those women, but at the same time she couldn't understand why they just didn't leave. Now she understood. Jane's abuse might not be physical, but it was abuse all the same. It was an abuse of her trust and her feelings. She would not play his victim any longer.

Lisbon felt a page of guilt for a moment. She felt like she was abandoning a friend in his hour of need. Jane had been through so much, and she could only imagine the grief and rage and guilt that must be trapped inside him. And she herself had some experience with the disappointment of coming so close so many times to catching Red John, only to see things fall apart at the end. That disappointment must be even worse for him.

Just as she felt herself softening towards him, yet again, she remembered him saying Lorelei must have had a good reason for torturing her victim. He actually condoned torture! That firmed her resolution right back up. She wouldn't let herself even speculate about whether or not Jane had taken part in torturing Jason Lenin before Lorelei shot him. She didn't bother to ask him, partly because she wasn't sure she wanted to know and partly because she didn't trust him to tell her the truth.

While she hated to admit defeat and really didn't want to acknowledge that she might not be able to save Jane from himself, recent events forced her to see the situation for what it was. It was time to admit that Jane might not be savable. No matter what she did, how hard she tried, how supportive she was, the bottom line was that Jane had to want to be saved. If he wanted to save himself, she would be there for him ready and willing to help, but she would no longer be an enabler on his path to destruction. She might not be able to prevent him from coming to a bad end, but she was damn well going to try to prevent him from taking anybody else down with him.

She had played along with Jane's little games for too long. She could never win. He had set the rules to favor his unique talents. Lisbon's only choice was to quit playing his game and force him to instead play by her rules. Lisbon was under no illusions that this would be easy. It was a battle on two fronts. She needed to find a way to counteract both his manipulation and her own instincts to take care of him. She knew she couldn't just turn her feelings off – at least not immediately. In the short-term she needed coping strategies. She needed her best poker face. She needed to rely on cold hard logic and put any feelings aside.

Maybe she should try locking her Jane feelings in a special room in her memory palace. She did have one, of course – how could she possibly resist trying to build one considering how often Jane raved about his own? However, far from being a palace, hers often seemed more like a cramped two bedroom house in one of the seedier neighborhoods of Sacramento. It was a little run down and disorganized, and she often had trouble finding what she was looking for. But no matter, she would clean it up and undertake some renovations. The attic seemed the appropriate place to lock up her Jane feelings. She couldn't help smiling at the thought.

In the longer term, ah, well that was a little harder: she needed to find a way to get rid of these unwanted feelings altogether and fall out of love. She had to clean out that attic and throw the unwanted boxes in the trash. It might not be easy, but she had never let a difficult challenge deter her before. She fell in love with Patrick Jane, so now she would just have to fall out of love with him. If anyone would have told her ten years ago that she would one day be in love with him, she would have laughed in their face and said it was impossible. If she had already done the impossible, then reversing the impossible should be a little easier…at least she hoped. What's done is done and beating herself up about it wouldn't help anything. What she had to do now was work on a plan. It might seem to be a difficult task to do on her own, but luckily Jane himself seemed eager to help her. His cold and calculating behavior was aiding her in her new resolution whether he realized it or not.

When the call came, she was ready for it. In fact, it had seemed almost inevitable. Lorelei Martin's death wasn't a shock. Red John had demonstrated many times in the past how he dealt with threats, and Lorelei had announced in no uncertain terms that she was no longer his friend. Lisbon wasn't at all surprised that Red John got to her before she could get to him. He was the master, after all, and she merely one of his many acolytes. She was sure that he had a few tricks up his sleeve that he had not yet made his eager young apprentice privy to. She hadn't been sure how Jane would react, and she had steeled herself for the worst. She had prepared herself for possibly seeing tears, or rage, or visible signs of the grief and pain that would result from once again losing a woman he had feelings for to Red John. Instead she got the one reaction she hadn't expected: indifference.

She didn't expect the resigned coldness of his words as he walked away. "She had it coming." Lisbon didn't disagree, but then she wasn't Lorelei's lover. The fact that two weeks after admitting he had feeling for the woman, Jane could react in such a dispassionate way chilled Lisbon to the bone. It seemed that now that Lorelei was no longer of any use to him, Jane's feelings just melted away. Like they never existed at all.

Was this really the man that she had fallen in love with? Had he been this cold uncaring creature all along? Was this always what had been hidden under the charming mask he displayed to the world, or was this what the decade long search for vengeance had turned him into. Lisbon supposed it didn't really matter. The end result was the same. And her heart hardened just a little bit towards him as she got a glimpse of the Patrick Jane behind the million dollar smile. She mentally put a padlock on the door to her memory palace attic. He hadn't destroyed her love yet, but it was a great step in the right direction.

Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. Maybe observing Jane closely, as he had taught her to observe others, would do the trick over time. Maybe if she didn't let herself get distracted by his big smiles and boyish antics and remained focused on seeing behind the mask, Jane would do all the work for her by revealing himself little by little. All she had to do was pay attention. For the first time in weeks, Lisbon felt optimistic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for the reviews, and just for reading! **

**Guest: I will be giving Lisbon an old friend, but she is not really based on me, more like a composite of a few of my friends. I hope you guys like her. She'll make an appearance in chapter 3. **

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She finished the report on the Lorelei Martins debacle, hating the fact that is was filled with lies. She promised herself that this was the last time she would cover for Jane. She straightened her desk and packed up her belongings as she got ready to leave for the night. She had only one task to complete before she could go home. Needless to say, it was the most unpleasant and the one she had been putting off all day. She looked in the bullpen to see if Jane was there. He wasn't, but she didn't really expect him to be. He was most likely in his attic, but she was not about to go to him and give him home field advantage in their new game. She picked up the phone and called him. It rang three times before he deigned to pick up.

"Lisbon. Do we have a case?"

"No, Jane. But I would appreciate it if you could stop by my office. There's something I would like to discuss with you."

There was a pause, and she could almost hear Jane's mind running through all the possibilities of what she might want to discuss and all the potential implications. Finally, after several seconds, he spoke. "Of course, Lisbon. I'll be right down."

As she waited for him, she mentally rehearsed what she was going to say. She just hoped that she could maintain control of the conversation. After several minutes he walked into her office, carrying a cup of tea. "Have a seat," she said as she gestured to the guest chair in front of her desk.

Jane sat and carefully set his tea cup on her desk. "What did you want to talk about, Lisbon?"

"I just finished the paperwork on the Lorelei Martins case. I thought this would be a good time for us to clear the air and make sure we're on the same page about a few things. As I told you a few weeks ago, some things need to change if you're going to remain a part of the team. I think it is only fair that I spell out exactly what my expectations are going forward so that there are no misunderstandings."

"Expectations?" Jane raised an eyebrow and gave her a smile, or more like a smirk, that told her he didn't seem overly concerned with her expectations. "That sounds ominous, my dear. I feel like an errant school boy called to the principal's office. Or at least I imagine this is how they would feel. I never actually went to school myself."

Lisbon wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug look off of his face, but she held her temper. "Jane, if you were a school boy you would be in detention every single day. What I'm trying to do is keep you from being expelled. You need to learn what acceptable standards of behavior are."

His amused look turned to one of irritation. "I get it, Lisbon, I assume that you are going to tell me to keep you informed and tell you if I learn anything about Red John. Of course, I will do that. I already told you that. We are partners."

"Yes, Jane, but the problem is that your definition of keeping me informed is no longer adequate. Telling me 30% of what you do is not good enough, not when it comes to Red John."

"Lisbon, if I don't tell you things, it is to protect…"

"Enough!" she cut him off mid-sentence, her voice a little louder than she intended. She took a deep breath. In a calmer tone she continued, "Stop it. Let's review, shall we? Last year, you told me absolutely nothing for six months. You carried out your little Vegas plan in secret and kept me in the dark. At the end of that time, Red John sent his mistress to ask you for my head. That type of thing had never happened when I was better informed, so it seems to me keeping secrets is not the best way to protect me. In fact, all it seems to do is paint a big red target on my back."

Jane had gone very still and had visibly paled. "Lisbon, …" He actually seemed speechless for once.

"Enough with the lies, Jane. You're a poker player. I'm not folding this time. I am very well aware that the reason you don't tell me everything about Red John is because you want to maintain control. You don't want me to know as much as you do. You don't want to find Red John together, as partners, or as part of a team. It is very important to you that you find him first, that you control the how and when, so that you can kill him before I can arrest him."

"That's not true."

"Cut the crap, Jane. We have been down this road before."

He was silent for what seemed like forever, just staring into her eyes without moving a muscle. "What do you want me to say, Lisbon? Yes, of course I want to kill Red John. You have known that for years. But I would not keep things from you to further that goal. I know I can't get to him by myself. If Lorelei was good for nothing else, she clearly demonstrated that. If she could not kill him, knowing him and his habits as well as she did, what chance would I have alone? Look, I want him dead. I won't deny that. But I learned a lesson from what happened to her. It has made me look at things in a different way. I now know the only way I can find him is with your help. If that means that we arrest him instead of kill him, I can live with that. I can make that compromise to put an end to this and put him behind me"

Lisbon didn't know what to believe. It sounded so sincere, but then Jane always sounded sincere when he was lying. It seemed hard to believe that Jane's thinking had changed so dramatically almost overnight. Jane thought he was smarter than everybody. He probably believed he wouldn't have made the fatal mistakes Lorelei had made. She knew he believed that if Lorelei would have just told him Red John's name, the monster would be dead by now. A Jane plan would have made all the difference. The fact that every previous Jane plan had failed would only be a trivial detail that he would rationalize away. She knew how his mind worked by now. But she also knew that it wouldn't be productive to call him a liar to his face. So she decided to play along, and make him show his cards.

"You've surprised me, Jane. This is quite a change in philosophy for you. For years, I have heard you say that Red John is yours. I always wanted you to let me help you, and to accept that arresting him is the best solution, but I was starting to give up hope that it would happen. I am going to assume that you are sincere. But so that there is no confusion going forward, I want us to be clear on how we are going to work together. Because partnerships work both ways. If only one side does the sharing and the trusting, it doesn't work."

"I need you to tell me anything you learn about Red John immediately. 100% of it, not 30%. You are to pursue no leads on your own or without backup that I assign. If you come up with a theory, I expect to be let in on it. If he contacts you or send you a message, either directly or through an intermediary, I expect to hear about it right away. Not after you think about it for a while, not after you respond in some way, but right away. If you leave any part of what is communicated out, and I find out about it, you are off my team for good. No warnings. No more chances."

Jane picked up his teacup and took a long sip as he stared at her over the rim. He balanced the cup on his knee, smiled a jaunty smile, and said, "If I didn't know better, I would think that you had a lawyer draft up that little speech, Lisbon. I've never known you to be quite so…precise."

"And it seems that was a mistake on my part. Lorelei shot and almost killed an innocent security guard. She injured Rigsby. If they had died, it would have been your fault. You broke a known accomplice of a serial killer out of prison, and, not surprisingly, bad things happened. You would have had to live with that. And so would I because I covered for you. This is not a game. You playing cowboy is no longer an option…not if you want to work with me. Not if you want access to CBI resources. I will not endanger my team or the public or lie to keep you out of prison. Not. Ever. Again. You need to understand that."

The jaunty smile was gone. His jaw clenched as he very evenly said, "Oh, I understand perfectly, Lisbon. No need to say another word. Are we finished?"

"Almost. There's just one more thing. I want to see your book."

"What? Lisbon, please, I've already discussed the book with you. I've told you the highlights. There is nothing substantial enough to act on yet. This is really unnecessary." He was very agitated at the very idea of putting the book in her hands. It made her wonder just what he was hiding in there.

"No, Jane, it is absolutely necessary. If you want me to share information, you need to do the same. I need to see all of your suspects, not the handful you told me about to placate me. Really? Brett Partridge? You seriously expect me to believe that he is one of your top suspects?"

"He has access, expertise, is in the right age range.."

"OK, Jane, fine, he's a suspect. But I want to see them all. You have two choices. Hand the book over, or give me your CBI ID and clear your things out of the building tonight. You will no longer have access to the building starting tomorrow morning. We will mail your last check to you." She held her hand out and waited. They stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. She sat there silently as he tried to read her, tried to figure out if she was bluffing or not. Finally, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slim black book and handed it to her.

"I hope this proves to you that you have my trust, Lisbon. I wouldn't give this to anyone else."

"I appreciate that, Jane. But you should trust the team as well, they've risked their lives and careers for you many times."

"I know that, Lisbon, and I do trust them, but not like I trust you." He hesitated before continuing, "You're the one person I count on more than any other. Our relationship is…different…special."

His voice trailed off on the last word and he had such a look of vulnerability on his face that she wanted nothing more than to embrace him and tell him she would always be there for him, no matter what. But she knew that type of attitude was exactly why he did what he wanted and lied to her repeatedly. Because she was always there…no matter what. She knew she had to set limits, for his own good and for hers.

"I know, Jane." She held up the book he had given her, "Thanks for sharing this. I'm exhausted, so I'm going to take it home and look it over tonight. I'll return it in the morning. His look of vulnerability quickly turned to one of alarm. Before he could object to her plan, she quickly added, "You can trust me to take good care of it, and you could use a night off from studying it."

He didn't seem thrilled with the idea of giving up custody overnight, but it seemed he would accept the inevitable graciously this time.

"OK, Lisbon. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

"You too, Jane. Goodnight."

And with that, he walked out the door and headed toward the steps leading to the attic. She breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn't been pleasant, but she thought that she was very clear and that this was a good first step. It was harsh telling him that those deaths would have been his fault, but it was the truth and he needed to think about the potential consequences of his actions. She hoped Jane would stick to her rules, because this was one ultimatum she would not back down from. If he lied again, he would be on his own. If that happened, the only thing she would be able to do for him would be to pray.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. Hope you all enjoy. **

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Lisbon sat at a table near the bar drinking her second jalapeño margarita with Dana, a friend from her academy days who had recently moved to Sacramento. Whatever else was going on in her life, Dana had always been a good friend and always been there for her. Lisbon had never had a sister, but she had always imagined that if she did, their relationship would be something like she had with Dana. They had confided their secrets to each other almost from the start.

Considering how close they were, it seemed only natural for her to bring Dana up to speed on the events of the past few weeks, including the whole Jane / Lorelei saga. Luckily, Dana already knew a lot of the Jane background. Lisbon and she had talked frequently over the years, and Lisbon had detailed many of Jane's exploits…the good, the bad, and the ugly. All Lisbon needed to do was fill her in on a few relevant details, including her newly discovered feelings, to put recent events in context. Even though she trusted Dana implicitly, she refrained from telling her a few details, partly to respect Jane's privacy, and partly to prevent Dana from ever being called as a witness in court if things went badly. The main omission was that she did not reveal that Jane finally admitted breaking Lorelei out of prison. Instead, she said she had suspicions that he had done so.

Lisbon was shocked to discover that Dana had suspected her feelings for Jane. Apparently it was obvious by the way she spoke about him that she felt more than friendship. Dana had teasingly inquired a few times in the past about the status of their relationship, but Lisbon had taken it as a joke and not thought anything of it.

Dana definitely thought that Jane was no good for her. She viewed him as damaged goods and a selfish user. She had felt that way ever since Jane disappeared to Vegas for six months. She and Lisbon had many long late night phone calls during that time, and she saw how hard that situation was on Lisbon. She had never forgiven Jane for all of that.

Dana wanted her to kick him off her team and end their friendship. Her rationale was that Jane constantly lied to her, did not respect her authority, and put his own desires ahead of both her and the law. Lisbon tried to defend him and tell Dana of his generous nature and the kind things Jane had done for her and others over the years. But none of it swayed Dana's opinion.

"It's all window dressing. He does a few nice things here and there, turns on the charm occasionally, so that people are blinded and more willing to overlook the ugliness behind the shiny façade. At the end of the day," Dana said, "you don't treat your friends like he does if you actually care about them. Good Lord, he worried more about that murderous harpy than he worried about you."

Lisbon hated to admit it, but she knew Dana was right. Jane might view her as a friend (she still held out hope that he had some genuine emotion where she was concerned), but she was a tool first, and always would be.

Just talking everything over with a friend made her feel a lot better. It had been a rough week: finishing all the reports related to the Lorelei Martins case, the difficult conversation with Jane, even looking through that damned book of his was no picnic.

She couldn't believe the level of detail the man had included. She also couldn't believe a lot of the names that Jane had not yet eliminated. Walter Mashburn was in there. Lisbon knew she did not have Jane's powers of observation, but she was highly confident that she would know if she had slept with a serial killer. Being a cop all these years had helped her develop a skill set of her own. She had very good instincts at the end of the day. She could never be that wrong about somebody that she had been intimate with.

He also included Virgil Minelli, which seemed absolutely ludicrous to her. Minelli was one of the finest men she had ever met. He was like a father to her. She had her doubts about whether this so-called clue that Lorelei had "let slip" was really a clue at all. Even now, when Jane believed Lorelei had betrayed him, it was impossible to convince Jane that she may have lied.

But she had to at least consider the possibility that "the harpy", as Dana so colorfully called her, was telling the truth, and Jane had met Red John. She would proceed as if this was a legitimate clue, because it could be. She had made copies of the book and after talking with Jane today had instructed the team to look into the background of the people on the list, including the whereabouts of Jane's suspects 25 years ago. She hoped that she would be able to eliminate more people if she could prove that they couldn't have been near the Visualize farm at that point. Jane's list was still several hundred names, so this would take quite a while.

She couldn't believe Jane had been trying to do this all on his own. He didn't have the access, or more importantly, the expertise needed to efficiently use the various law enforcement databases that they had. She had no idea how he thought he would get the information. Google can't do everything.

The man's paranoia and secrecy was a real challenge when it came to Red John. Luckily, once he realized Lisbon wasn't going to back down, he calmed down (this took two painful hours) and eventually got comfortable with the idea of sharing the names with the team. He even sounded like he appreciated the help in researching the people on his list. He seemed somewhat optimistic, and had ventured down from his attic lair to once again occupy his couch in the bull pen. So at least as far as work was concerned, she was cautiously optimistic that things with Jane would be all right. She would keep a close eye on him, but the early results were positive. She hoped dealing with her personal feelings would be as easy.

Dana interrupted her thoughts about Jane by interjecting excitedly, "Ooh, Teresa, check out the tall dark-haired guy in the blue shirt to your left. He keeps looking your way."

"What makes you think I can handle dating right now? I can't even handle my non-relationship with Jane and you're trying to shove me at other men? Did you listen to anything I said?"

Dana looked her straight in the eye and replied with a very serious expression and tone, "Yes, Teresa, I heard every word you said, and a sad tale it was. But it's like my grandmother used to tell me when I was in high school, 'The best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody else.'"

Lisbon laughed so hard she almost snorted her margarita. "Your grandmother told you that? Why didn't I grow up in your family? With all the things she could have taught me, I would be so much ahead of the curve now."

Dana couldn't hide her smile any longer, "OK, so I admit it wasn't my grandmother, it was a friend two years older than me who seemed like the font of all wisdom when I was 17. But I thought it would carry more weight if I said it was my grandmother than if I said it was my slutty friend Jenna."

Lisbon shook her head and chuckled, tapping Dana's glass with her own, "I think you've had too many of these."

"Nonsense, Teresa. You haven't had enough if you're going to pass up the opportunity to take that guy home with you. Trust me. You won't regret it. He'll make you forget all about that psycho blond pretty boy. He is exactly your type, and you know it."

Lisbon glanced to her left and had to admit she liked what she saw. Tall, dark and ruggedly handsome. The object of her attention made eye contact and she smiled before turning back to Dana. "He is rather attractive, but I don't think rebound sex is the answer. Especially considering that Jane and I never actually had sex. God, this is pathetic. I feel like I just had a bad break up and I never got to have the fun of the relationship. I feel cheated!"

Dana laughed, "How many times do I have to tell you? You're supposed to date BEFORE you decide to dump a guy? Clearly, it is very lucky for you that we are in the same city once again. You just can't manage to date properly without my expert guidance. Most women, no matter how hard they work, can never achieve your level of incompetence."

"Oh, wise woman, what would I do without you?"

"Continue pining after losers not worth your time."

"That's probably true. But a little sympathy would be appreciated. Just you wait until the next time you come crying to me about some guy that broke your heart. But how do I fix things…other than firing him? I'm not doing that unless he breaks the rules again".

"Which he will."

"Maybe. Or maybe not. But let's wait and see on that for now."

Dana sighed. "Fine. You said you want to get over Jane. I think that is the right decision, by the way. The guy doesn't even deserve your friendship, let alone your love. Did I happen to mention that he's an ass?"

"Yes, I think you said that five or six times."

"Good, hopefully it sank in. So I think the first thing you have to do is stop thinking about and obsessing over him. You need a life outside of work. The more time spent with friends and with other men, the less time you will have to sit and dwell on him. You get out there and have fun and date and enjoy the attention you get from your many admirers. Your ass looks fantastic in those jeans, by the way. You need to go take a walk past Mr. Blue Shirt so he can appreciate the view."

"I love you. I'm so glad you're here. I really missed you."

"I know. I am pretty incredible, so of course you missed me. But enough of this sentimental nonsense, finish that drink and go take a walk and give Mr. Blue Shirt a chance to talk to you. If you don't want to take him home, at least give him a glimpse of the attractive, fun woman you really are. See if you even remember how to flirt. You need to be reminded what it's like to have a man dance to your tune, instead of you constantly dancing to theirs. Get him to buy you a drink. Have him buy me one as well. Fixing your love life makes me thirsty."

Lisbon could only laugh at Dana's advice before she finished her drink and walked toward the bathroom…and admirer number one.

Maybe Dana was right. She had to start moving on some time. Why not tonight?

xxx

She didn't follow Dana's advice to its ultimate conclusion…she didn't take Reynolds, AKA Mr. Blue Shirt, home that night. Not that she had any objection to casual sex, but he seemed like a really great guy with a lot of potential and she wanted to give them a fair shot. Drunken liaisons after an alcohol fueled first meeting might be an entertaining way to pass a few hours, but they rarely resulted in anything meaningful. She should know, she'd had many of them over the years.

That was fine with her in the past, in fact, that had been her preference in recent years. She had not wanted the entanglements that a true relationship would provide. But that approach had its downside as well. It meant that she remained alone while everybody else in the world seemed to have somebody. And she was starting to think that it was entirely possible that the lack of emotional intimacy in her sexual relationships contributed to her feelings for Jane. When she had no other outlet for those feelings, it made sense that she would develop feelings for the man she spent the most time with, despite the fact that he was the most emotionally unavailable man she had ever known. At least, that was her theory. She really hoped if she became involved in a healthy relationship with an appropriate man, her feelings for Jane would fade away.

She was trying to turn over a new leaf and make meaningful changes in her life, so she would try to change how she dated as well. So she limited her interactions with Reynolds to flirtatious banter and happily gave him her number when he asked for it at the end of the night. That was Saturday. He called her the next night, and they talked for an hour before agreeing to get together on Tuesday for lunch. Unfortunately, a development in a case forced her to cancel their lunch date. She was a little surprised when Reynolds was very understanding and suggested getting together Friday night instead. They made plans which included dinner at a trendy, new Spanish restaurant.

Lisbon was very much looking forward to Friday.


	4. Chapter 4

**I thought I would change things up a bit and give you Jane's perspective on recent events. Of course, Lisbon is still the star of my story. Hope you enjoy! Please feel free to leave any feedback on the story. If you don't like something, that's fine, just try to be specific about what exactly doesn't work for you. I can take the criticism - I'm pretty tough! :-) By the same token, if you do like something, I would love to hear that as well. Whether you leave comments or not, thanks for taking the time to read this.**

* * *

Jane was brooding. It might look to the casual observer like he was napping on his sofa, but in reality he was thinking about Lisbon and the way their relationship had deteriorated since Lorelei's return and subsequent permanent exit. He feared that he may have pushed her too far one too many times and that their relationship might be irreparably damaged. Now that the storm had passed it was easy to see where he had gone wrong, not just in the hunt for Red John but in his dealings with Lisbon. Not surprisingly, the two were closely linked.

Trusting Lorelei was not one of his best decisions. It had been foolish to think Lorelei would tell him who Red John was. He thought that having both lost family members to Red John would make them comrades-in-arms. That having a common goal would have created a sense of loyalty and a spirit of cooperation. But he had miscalculated greatly.

His first mistake was thinking that Lorelei would be more willing to share vengeance than he was. Jane had wanted Red John all to himself for years, and had kept secrets from Lisbon so he could get to him first. Lisbon was right about that, and she had finally called him on it. He may have fooled himself by saying that he was trying to protect her, but he hadn't fooled her. When she flat-out said that keeping her out of his plans had put a target on her back and prompted Red John to ask for her head, he was truly shaken. Somehow he had never made that connection before. It is like he blocked out any inconvenient facts and avoided thinking about anything that might deter him from his chosen path. Hearing her put it in such stark terms made it impossible to ignore.

If he was so eager to kill Red John on his own, he should have realized Lorelei would feel the same way. In addition to killing her sister, Red John had manipulated her and betrayed her. Of course, Lorelei would want to be the one to kill him. She never needed Jane…she knew where to find Red John. Jane was the one who needed her. She always had all the power in the relationship. He was just too blinded by his desperation to see that.

His second mistake was ignoring that Lorelei had of her own free will aligned herself with Red John. That said something about her, which he conveniently hadn't acknowledged at the time. He himself had gone through hell and back since his family was killed, and he had resisted Red John's overtures of friendship, although he had done some questionable things.

Jane realized there was a lot of truth to what Nietzsche once wrote, "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." He knew his battle with the monster named Red John was putting not only his life in danger, but his sense of self as well. If he wasn't careful, he would lose anything good that remained in him and become just as bad as Red John himself. Jane by no means considered himself a good man...he knew that he wasn't. But he took some solace from the fact that he hadn't passed the point of no return, although he realized he was creeping closer every day.

Lorelei was a whole different story. She said she has done terrible things…unforgivable things. Jane was sure that she had. She had almost certainly killed many times. She seemed willing enough to cut his fingers off. She could torture people without flinching.

And she had asked for Lisbon's head…

How could he have ignored that and trusted her? Lisbon told him repeatedly that Lorelei was playing him. Instead of trusting her judgment, he let his ego get in the way and trusted a serial killer's mistress.

Interesting how Lisbon always called her that. Jane had, albeit briefly, shared a mistress with Red John. It was surreal. He thought at the time that the ends would justify the means, but he was now rethinking that. For the first time, he felt somewhat ashamed. He was almost glad that he didn't believe in the afterlife, because he would hate to believe that Angela knew what he had done. She would surely view it as a betrayal.

And he now realized Lisbon did as well. The naked emotion on her face in that house on Orchard Lane was painful for him to look at. He had never realized the extent of her feelings before. He knew he was in love with her. He had accepted that a while ago, even if he still did his best to suppress it. He knew she felt something for him, but despite his constant efforts to read her, he could never really determine with any certainty if her feelings were romantic love or just a platonic, familial version. Despite the fact that he teased her and called her translucent, she was quite opaque when it came to the important things. He suspected that was because his own emotions clouded his ability to read hers.

But at that moment in Orchard Lane it all became very clear. All of her emotions were 100% transparent to him for the first time. He saw her love…and her pain. He realized how much he had hurt her by admitting feelings for Lorelei. Of course, those feelings were largely based on empathy. He knew what it felt like to lose a loved one to Red John, and he genuinely felt for Lorelei, despite what she was. They had that loss in common, which gave them a strange bond. And he slept with her after a decade of celibacy. He knew from the moment she showed up at his motel room door that she worked for Red John. That knowledge, combined with the fact that he was half drunk and physically exhausted meant the actual sex was lukewarm at best, mechanical rather than passionate and over almost as soon as it started. But it was human contact and warmth after a decade of being cold and alone. It's hard not to feel a certain tenderness after that, despite his best efforts not to. But it was never anything approaching love…could never be love. But that wasn't the time or place to explain all of that to Lisbon. They were in the middle of a dangerous case, and she was on the verge of tears. He knew anything he said would push her over the line. He just stood there silently and waited for her to calm herself, hoping she could see the truth in his eyes.

Since then he didn't know what to say to her. Would bringing it up make things better, or alienate her even further? He stayed away from her for a while to give her time. Things were tense between them, and he didn't want to make them any worse.

They got worse anyways. Kirkland's involvement and Jason Lennon's death only exacerbated the situation. Lisbon refused to believe that Kirkland killed him. She believed the autopsy, which Jane knew that Kirkland had somehow faked. She told him to stay away from Kirkland. She said, in case there was any doubt, that it was not a suggestion, it was a direct order. If he didn't follow that order, he was off the team. She seemed to be threatening him with that a lot lately, and he did not like it one bit. Jane was furious, but he was even more hurt. He felt like she has cut him loose and no longer viewed him as a partner. He was a liability to be managed. He said some hurtful things to her in anger, which he almost instantly regretted. Now all he could do was wait for things to cool down.

He hoped she would approach him when she was ready to talk. Recent events had made him reevaluate many aspects of his life. He was finally ready to have an open and honest conversation about the feelings he had for her, but he didn't think she was ready. If he was a betting man, and he was, he would bet that she had never realized the truth of her own feelings until that moment. In addition to the love, pain, and betrayal he saw on her face, he also saw shock. She was surprised by what she felt. The conversation had to be on her timing, so Jane decided to lay low until she was ready. He hoped that was the right decision.

He had hoped that was what she wanted to talk to him about when she called him last week and asked him to come to her office. Unfortunately, feelings were the last thing she wanted to discuss. It seemed that Lisbon was shoving her feelings aside, like he had for so long. Instead she was all business. She laid down the law in no uncertain terms, giving him some very stark choices. She was not bluffing. She was fully prepared to kick him off her team at that moment if he did not acquiesce to her demands. He eventually realized he had no choice in the matter and agreed, despite his pride being more than a little bruised at the heavy-handed way she had put things. It was obvious by the way she had spelled everything out that he had demolished the trust she had in him. It was clear she was trying to anticipate all the ways he could circumvent her rules. It hurt to realize just how much he had damaged what they had.

Once again he was faced with a woman having all the power in the relationship. But unlike Lorelei, at least this one was trustworthy. Truth be told, even though he was not very happy to have her demand he turn over his book, it might actually be for the best. Now that he'd had a little time to think about it, he realized that. When he saw Lorelei's body with Red John's smiley looking down on her, he realized he was heading for the same end. Lorelei had even tried to warn him off that path. Lorelei did have it coming. Her death was unavoidable given the choices she had made. But Jane could make different choices.

Jane was being honest when he told Lisbon he had rethought his approach to Red John. If Lorelei could not kill Red John, knowing him as well as she did, Jane had to face the possibility that he would never be able to find and kill him on his own. Despite his superior intelligence, he was just as blinded by his emotions when it came to Red John as Lorelei was. He now realized that his emotions had been part of the problem all along. The logic that served him so well on every other case deserted him when Red John was involved. Lisbon had told him that before, but he never listened. He saw it now.

No, if he was to have any hope of finding Red John and surviving the encounter, he could not do it alone. He needed the CBI resources, and most of all Lisbon. He wanted Red John dead, but he was for the first time thinking that killing him in cold blood might not be the best way to go about it. Realizing that Lisbon loved him had made him stop suppressing his own feelings. He wanted to have a future…with her. He wouldn't have one if he spent the rest of his life in prison. He was willing to see what happened if he played things Lisbon's way for once. He still wanted Red John dead…prison would never hold him… but he would have to find a different way of doing it. Red John would never go quietly. It was not uncommon for a suspect to die in a firefight… He would figure this all out later. For now, he would play by Lisbon's rules.

He briefly considered asking for her forgiveness and telling her how much he loved her as he sat there across from her in her office. But, once again, it was not the right time. She would view it as another attempt to manipulate her. So instead he made some vague, ambiguous comment about their relationship being "special". It was true, but special was completely inadequate as a description. For one of the few times in his life, Patrick Jane, the man who always knew what to say, who could manipulate anybody to get what he wanted, who always had a plan, had absolutely no idea how to proceed.

XXXXXXX

Lisbon changed her dress once again, going back to the red wrap dress she had originally tried on. The hemline was an inch or two above the knee and the dress was form-fitting and body conscious; sexy without being too revealing. She was acting like a teenager on her first date, not a 40-year-old woman who had been around the block a few times. She felt out of practice, and that was most likely because she was. She had her fair share of one night stands in the past few years, and the occasional casual date involving not much more than a burger and a few drinks, but she hadn't been on many formal dates lately. She struggled to remember the last time she actually had a date nice enough to warrant wearing a dress. Was it two years ago, or three? This was sad. She had pushed her love life to the back burner for long enough. She knew Dana was right, and that actively getting back into the dating scene would help take her mind off of Jane. If she kept an open mind and gave new men a chance, she might get lucky and find somebody who would make her forget all about Jane in time. Stranger things had certainly happened.

She checked her makeup one final time before slipping on a pair of tall black leather high-heeled boots and heading downstairs to wait for her date. As she sat there she got more and more nervous. Maybe this was a mistake. Could she really enjoy herself out on a date with one man when she had newly discovered feelings for another? She resisted the urge to have a shot of tequila to calm herself. Smelling like a distillery was not the way to make a good impression. Instead, she would just refuse to think about Jane tonight. She was getting better at keeping her memory palace attic locked up tight. No good could come out of rummaging around in that particular room this evening.

She jumped when the doorbell finally range a few minutes later. She stood up, took a deep breath, and walked over to open the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks, everybody, for the reviews. I'm actually really excited that people are still reading this! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.**

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Lisbon couldn't help smiling when she opened the door and saw Reynolds. He looked even better than she remembered. He was about 6'2", with dark brown hair and gorgeous green eyes. He had a very masculine, ruggedly handsome face with a strong jaw and full, sensual lips. His tailored jacket didn't disguise his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He really was a beautiful specimen of manhood. Maybe she could enjoy herself tonight. "Hi, Reynolds."

If the look on his face as he looked her over was any indication, he was equally pleased with what he saw. "Teresa, wow, you look...absolutely gorgeous. You know, I was disappointed when you couldn't make lunch, but seeing you in that dress, I feel like the universe has rewarded me for my patience." He gave her a boyish grin which she found absolutely adorable.

She rewarded him with a big smile and a laugh and motioned him inside before she closed the door. "Thank you. I figured that since you were so understanding about me canceling lunch on short notice, the least I could do was try to make myself presentable."

"You were trying for presentable? Sorry, but this is more like stunning. Or beautiful. Stunningly beautiful to be precise."

Lisbon liked to think of herself as a rational person who judged people by their actions, but even she wasn't completely immune to flattery from an attractive, charming man. She found herself liking Reynolds more with every word he spoke. "That's quite a compliment. Is that precise smoothness something they taught you in law school?"

"Not at all. Well, actually the precise part was. I learned my…you call it smoothness, but I prefer to think of it as charm… from my grandfather."

"So the charm runs in the family."

"Yes, it's the family legacy. I had no choice in the matter. My grandfather shared all of his knowledge with his favorite grandson. Lesson one and two were the way to a woman's heart is though her stomach and always show up with a token of your affection: so these, my lady, are for you."

He held out a small box of assorted truffles from an expensive chocolate shop downtown. "I hope you like them. They're a bit unusual with various chiles and other spicy ingredients. I thought since you were drinking spicy drinks the other night, you might like spicy chocolates."

Charm _and _chocolate. That was a winning strategy indeed. What woman could resist that? "I've never tried them, but I'm sure I'll love them. I love anything spicy, and I love chocolate, so mixing the two can only be good. Thank you, this was very thoughtful. Your grandfather must be quite a man to have taught you so well."

"Oh, he is. But don't get any ideas. My grandmother might seem sweet, but she is one tough lady, even at 85. You'll just have to settle for the grandson, I'm afraid."

Lisbon laughed, "Well, I'll try to make due. At least the grandson knows good chocolate."

Reynolds smiled, "One of my most highly prized skills." He held out his arm. "Shall we? Our reservation is for 8:00."

"Sounds good to me. I'm starving." Lisbon put down her chocolates and picked up her hand bag. Reynolds was handsome, funny, and, yes, charming. She could do a lot worse.

XXX

Dinner was fun and romantic. They shared some delicious tapas, drank good wine, and swapped stories, many of them amusing. Lisbon learned that Reynolds grew up in London and came to the US to attend Princeton. He moved to California for law school at Stanford and had worked his way up at a large law firm before striking out with his partner to found their own firm. Five years later, his firm had grown a substantial client base and a good reputation in corporate law. They were now in the process of expanding and adding a criminal law practice as well. Reynolds's specialty was M&A, and he seemed to love what he did.

Lisbon talked about her own career path, including her team, and her childhood and family in Chicago. While Lisbon was the oldest child with three younger brothers, Reynolds was the only son with three older sisters. He claimed his early experience being surrounded by women meant that most of his bad habits had been beaten out of him by the time he reached adulthood. He was joking (at least she thought so), but based on what she had seen of him so far, his sisters trained him well.

After dinner they went to jazz club. As they sat at a cozy booth in the corner, Reynolds moved closer to her, put his arm around her and took her hand. They smiled at each other and snuggled closer as they sipped their cocktails and listened to the music. They discovered that they had very compatible musical tastes. His knowledge of jazz was even more extensive than Lisbon's own. She was impressed.

At the end of the night, Reynolds drove her home and she invited him inside for a nightcap. They sat on her sofa talking quietly. During a lull in the conversation, he looked into her eyes and reached out to caress her cheek before leaning in and kissing her. His started so softly, barely a brush of the lips, before pulling back for a second to gauge her reaction. He leaned back in and kissed her again, gently moving his lips over hers, capturing her bottom lips between his, encouraging her to respond. She didn't need much encouragement. She kissed him back, moving her arms up around his neck. He put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. His lips were warm and firm and he tasted like the whiskey he had been drinking earlier. One kiss melded seamlessly into the next as desire flared between them. At some point he pulled away from her lips causing Lisbon to moan in disappointment. She felt him smile as he trailed kisses along her jaw line and then down her neck.

"Mmmm, you smell so good," he murmured as he nuzzled her neck. His deep sexy voice combined with his accent was a potent combination.

Lisbon just made a little mewling sound in response.

"And your skin is so soft," he continued as he gently caressed her neck and collarbone."

She moaned for an entirely different reason when he bit her earlobe. She ran her hands through his thick hair and let herself just get lost in the feelings he evoked. His stubble was scratching her skin, but she didn't mind. If anything, it just made her feel very feminine in comparison and increased the intensity of her pleasure. He shifted slightly and pushed her back against the cushions, covering her body with his own as he returned to her lips once again. Then her phone rang, causing her to freeze.

He pulled away from her lips to say, "Just ignore it. It's well after midnight."

"I wish I could, but it might be work. I'm sorry."

He groaned, gave her a quick kiss and sat up. "I hate phones."

Lisbon smiled sympathetically and got up to pull her phone from her bag. She looked at the ID and realized it was Bertram. "Lisbon"

Lisbon listened as Bertram told her that a Senator's daughter had just been found dead in an alley behind a club. Her team was the one on call this weekend, but she suspected that even if they weren't, due to who the girl's father was, Bertram would have put them on it regardless. When she ended the call, she looked at Reynolds and gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry. There's been a murder, and I have to go. I'm really sorry to cut the evening short."

Reynolds gave her a little pout before he smiled and said "Duty calls. I understand. I'll just have to let you make it up to me next time."

Lisbon frowned at him. "What makes you think there's going to be a next time?"

For a second he looked surprised and uncertain and even a little hurt, until Lisbon gave him a smile and a wink.

Reynolds laughed when he realized she had just been teasing him. "Oh, very funny. It's not enough to cut a date short and kick the poor guy out into the street, you have to torture him a little first as well. Did they teach you that at the police academy?"

"Yep. Right after ten ways to kill a man with your bare hands and right before creative uses for handcuffs."

Reynolds grinned and said, "Now I'm intrigued. The academy curriculum sounds much more interesting than anything I learned in law school. Do you think you can teach me any of that sometime? Maybe, oh, I don't know…the handcuff thing might be a good start."

"What's the matter? Your grandfather didn't already cover that for you?"

"Grandpa must be saving that for when I'm old enough. But, to go back to your original question, of course there will be a next time. You can't kiss a man like that and expect him to stay away. It's like feeding a homeless dog, they'll just keep showing up at your door. Whether you want them to or not. I'm afraid you're stuck with me now."

Lisbon laughed before Reynolds continued in a more serious tone, "To be honest, it is a little new for me to be on this side of it. Usually, I'm the one who has to cancel or cut short a date because of work. At least I know you'll be understanding when it's my turn. You will be understanding, won't you?"

"I will. You're being so good about this, I really appreciate it. And I will make it up to you"

"I'm going to hold you to that. I guess I should go so you can change. That dress is much too nice to wear to a crime scene."

She walked him to the door and gave him one last, lingering kiss before they said good night. She picked up the phone to call the team.

XXX

It was two in the morning by the time she got to the crime scene. The entire team was already there, so she went up to Cho to get the update.

"So what do we know?"

"Not much yet. One of the employees found her when he took some trash out. She was beaten, and the preliminary cause of death is a blow to the head. She had been in the club earlier, based on the stamp on her hand. So far, nobody seems to have seen anything suspicious, or seen her leave. A few people remember seeing her, but nobody knows if she was with anybody."

"Are there any security cameras?"

"Not from the alley, but there are for inside. Rigsby is with the manager getting all the footage from tonight. We still have a few more potential witnesses to interview as well, so maybe one of them will have something useful."

"Good work."

Just then Jane wandered over wearing a big smile and standing just a little too close to her. "Lisbon, my dear, don't you just love a late night call to a crime scene? The invigorating night air, the starry sky…it all has a certain charm. I can't think of a better way to spend an evening."

Lisbon sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "I can. So what do you think?"

Jane didn't respond right away. He was just staring at her with the strangest look on his face. He stepped even closer to her and leaned in towards her. For a second, she had the crazy thought that he was going to kiss her. Her pulse sped up and she wasn't sure if the idea terrified her or excited her. But then he straightened up and stepped back and with a forced smile said, "Clearly, it's a crime of passion. The jealous boyfriend did it. It wasn't planned, so doubtless you'll find some physical evidence on him. I think my work here is done." And with that he turned and walked away.

As Jane was leaving, Rigsby walked up to her. "Hey boss." He followed her gaze towards Jane's retreating figure. "Where's he going?"

"Home, I suppose. He said the jealous boyfriend did it, crime of passion."

"How's he do that?"

"I don't know. It's a Jane thing." She turned to look at Rigsby. "Tomorrow, look into whether she had a boyfriend, either current or a recent ex. Jane's hunches are usually right."

"Sure thing, boss."

Lisbon couldn't figure out what had gotten into Jane. But she couldn't worry about it right now. She just wanted to wrap things up here, and get home to get some sleep. Jane and his odd behavior could wait.

XXX

Patrick Jane was not happy. It seems the call for this case had interrupted Lisbon's plans for the evening... plans that involved a date with another man. When he stood next to Lisbon, he saw what could only be beard burn along her jaw and her neck. In case there was any doubt, the men's cologne that he could smell on her confirmed his suspicions. How far along those plans had gotten, he did not want to even think about. Whether this was simply one of her occasional one night stands, or something more, he didn't know. But in either case, he did not like it. She was supposed to be in love with him. She had no business being with somebody else.

He thought giving her space and time was the answer. Once again, it seems he miscalculated. Nature abhors a vacuum. While Jane was giving her space, some other guy had moved in to fill that space. He felt an unfamiliar burning sensation in his gut and realized with some surprise that it was jealousy. He had never been the jealous type, even when he was married. He did not like the feeling at all.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm a bit worried about this chapter. I already had it written, but decided to wait until Sunday's episode to make sure nothing conflicted since I mention Kirkland. I decided to do a minor rewrite to try to keep everything compliant with what has been presented on the show so far, and things got delayed a few days until I had time to get to it. I make a reference to The Walking Dead in this chapter (I had been watching it right before I wrote this.) If you don't watch that show, I don't think it will impact your understanding of the story. All you really need to know is the show is about the survivors of a zombie plague. The Governor is a man who seems like a great guy, but has actually gone insane and is very sadistic underneath. Andrea gets involved in a relationship with him before she knows about his dark side. She later has a chance to kill him (she is starting to realize how dangerous he is), but can't make herself do it. Eventually the Governor kills two of her friends and her. Enough of my rambling... I hope you like it!**

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Lisbon sat at her desk reviewing some paperwork relating to the murder of Senator Harris's daughter. Jane had, as usual, been right. It was the ex-boyfriend. He had killed her in a fit of jealous rage. The two were caught arguing on the club's security footage. They found DNA evidence under the victim's fingernails and scratches on the suspect. Since Cho and Rigsby had shown up early the next day at the suspect's home with a search warrant, he still had clothing stained by the victim's blood he had not yet disposed of. Bertram was happy that the case was wrapped up quickly, so the week was off to a good start.

As she signed off on the final report, her thoughts drifted back to Reynolds and their date. She'd had a great time, really liked him, and was strongly attracted to him. And she had to admit he was a ridiculously good kisser. It bothered her though that she couldn't help wondering what it would be like to kiss Jane, especially after he leaned in close to her last night like he was going to do exactly that. She still had no idea what that was about, but then it wasn't the first time Jane had done something odd and she knew it wouldn't be the last.

In hindsight, she was almost glad that Bertram's call had interrupted things with Reynolds. If it hadn't, she probably would have slept with him, and she didn't want to jump into anything too quickly. She was feeling very conflicted. As much as she liked Reynolds, she had a hard time thinking about him without then thinking about Jane. She found herself constantly comparing the two. Was that normal or a sign of trouble? Did she like Reynolds for himself, or was she using him to distract herself from Jane? Or was it a little of both? She didn't know what to make of it. She just wished she could focus on Reynolds without thoughts of Jane intruding.

She looked up at the sound of footsteps. Speak of the devil. Jane himself walked into the room, carrying a pastry bag and two cups.

"Good morning, Lisbon. I stopped by Marie's and, since I figured you had probably skipped breakfast again, thought you might be a little peckish."

Lisbon was shocked into silence for a moment. It had been weeks since Jane had brought her coffee, let alone a bear claw. He hadn't voluntarily set foot in her office since the whole Lorelei debacle. He had only recently returned to his couch in the bullpen. Was this a genuine gesture of good will, or an attempt to soften her up because he had done something that she was going to be angry about? She decided to be cautiously optimistic and hope this was innocent.

"Thanks, Jane. I am kind of hungry. And they do have the best coffee." She gave him a grateful smile and took a sip. It was just as she liked it. Jane knew her habits well.

Jane continued with the unexpected behavior and perched himself on the edge of her desk. She just looked at him for a moment, then raised an eyebrow when he failed to speak.

Finally, he broke the silence, shocking her once again when he gave her his most charming smile and said in a soft, deep voice "You know, since we just wrapped up the Harris case, it will probably be a slow day. I was thinking we should go out for lunch later. I haven't seen much of you lately, and there's a new Mediterranean place a couple of blocks over that I've been wanting to try."

She was surprised, but also touched that Jane seemed to want to actually spend time with her. He had been avoiding her since Lorelei's crime spree. More tension had resulted from Jason Lennon's death, and she knew her recent efforts to assert her authority were chafing at him a bit. Even though she wanted to eliminate her romantic feelings for Jane and needed to maintain control over him at work, she still hoped there was some way they could have something approaching a genuine friendship…if Jane was even capable of such a thing. Considering all of this, she felt really bad that she already had other plans, even though she knew it was probably for the best since spending time alone with him would not help her get over him.

She smiled softly. "Jane, I would love to, but today's not a good day."

Jane leaned a little closer to her, lowered his voice even more, and said in a voice she could only describe as seductive, "Come on, Teresa. Put the paper work aside just this once. You know you want to. It's my treat. I've really missed you lately. We need some time together…just the two of us."

Teresa? He called her Teresa…with that exotic pronunciation only Jane ever used. Despite her resolution to ignore her feelings for him, she felt a little thrill of excitement go through her at his words and voice and especially the warm look in his eyes. His eyes had gone very dark, his pupils were dilated, his lids half closed. If it wasn't Jane, she would call them bedroom eyes. Oh, my God, those were bedroom eyes! Was Jane trying to seduce her? She felt twin stabs of panic and elation at the very idea.

No, that's crazy. Jane would never try to seduce her…especially over a meal. He had once called that sophomoric. Besides, the man still wasn't over his wife and only seemed to be physically attracted to seductive murderers like Lorelei and Erica Flynn. He couldn't be over his feelings for Lorelei that quickly. Could he? And he had never hit on her before. Well, except for that time when he was in a fugue state…but that didn't count. Did it?

Lisbon's heart plummeted when she realized that this must be a con. Of course, he was trying to manipulate her for some reason. She had been worried about this possibility ever since she had almost broken down in front of him in that house on Orchard Lane. Whatever Jane had done or was planning to do must be very bad if he felt the need to seduce her. It would be very dangerous to let herself get sucked into it. Oh God, she could only pray he didn't have another crazy Red John plan.

She mentally shook herself. She had to calm down and get control of herself. She could not let Jane see how he affected her. She could not panic or make any assumptions where he was concerned…that was very dangerous. He kept his motivations hidden too well. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. That calmed her. She decided to pretend not to notice his little attempt at seduction…if that is really even what it was. He has been all over the place lately. Could she have misinterpreted? In any case, if she didn't respond to his game, whatever it was, maybe he would stop playing. She would treat this as she would any other lunch invitation that she had to turn down.

She gave him a sad smile. "Jane, I wish I could, but I'm afraid I already have other lunch plans. Maybe we could go another day?"

A look that she couldn't interpret briefly flashed across his face and was quickly masked by an inquisitive, amused expression. He sat back and said in a teasing tone, "Ah, Lisbon. Other plans...so very mysterious. So is this lunch partner a new love interest by any chance?"

Lisbon glared at him. "What? No. Not that it's any of your business, but I'm having lunch with Bob Kirkland."

The amused look was gone, replaced by one that was much more sober. "Kirkland, again? You already had coffee with him."

"Yes, but that was cut short when I got a call about the case we were working on. He suggested lunch to continue our conversation. It will be a good opportunity to discuss how we should work together on the Red John case."

"Lisbon, I don't like this. That guy is dangerous and can't be trusted. He killed Jason Lennon, he broke into my attic, and suddenly he's all about the spirit of cooperation. He is working for Red John. You do realize he's using you to get to me, don't you? He just wants information. He's not no real interest in working with you."

Lisbon was well aware that Kirkland was probing for information on what Jane knew about the Red John case. He made that clear over coffee. But she couldn't hold that against him. He was brought in to work on this case and didn't trust Jane. Lisbon couldn't blame him for that either. Jane was untrustworthy. He had withheld information from her more times than she could count. As for Jane's allegations…she didn't know what to think. All she knew was that they couldn't run around pointing fingers at a Homeland Security agent with no evidence at all other than a Jane hunch. "Jane," she replied in a soothing voice, "I know he's looking for information, but we have to work with him. And we have had this conversation already. There is no evidence that Kirkland had anything to do with Lennon's death, or that he broke into your attic."

Jane stood up and shook his head in disbelief. "There's no evidence because he destroyed it. He knows what he is doing. And now you're going to lunch with him when instead you should be finding a way to get him off the case. Lisbon, you are playing right into his hands."

She was really trying to hold her temper, but Jane made it very difficult. "Even if he did everything that you believe, that doesn't change the fact that, for now at least, he is part of this investigation and we need to cooperate with him. Because of Lorelei's escape and the murders she committed, we now need to deal with Kirkland. So if this situation bothers you, maybe you should try to remember that you're the one who caused it in the first place. Maybe you should try to learn something from this, instead of attacking me for trying to fix some of the damage you caused." It was a little harsh, but Lisbon was not in the mood to be too gentle with him considering that he had decided to use her feelings for him against her with his new manipulative seduction game.

"I'm not attacking you. I'm just worried about you getting mixed up with Kirkland. I know I didn't handle the Lorelei situation in the ideal way…"

Lisbon snorted, "That's a bit of an understatement."

Jane ignored that. "And I am trying to do things your way. I'm been doing everything you asked me to. I'm sharing everything with you and haven't lied to you. But you don't seem to acknowledge the effort I am making. Nobody knows more about Red John than me, yet you totally ignore my warnings about Kirkland, who I know works for Red John. When did you lose faith in my instincts?"

"I think it was around the same time you told me you trusted Lorelei Martins."

Jane flinched. He turned away from her, took a couple of steps and looked out the window silently for a few seconds, then he looked back and in a very quiet voice said "And there it is…the "I told you so" I've been expecting. I can't say that I blame you. I'm surprised you haven't thrown it in my face before now."

"I'm not throwing anything in your face, Jane. I'm just stating facts. Your lack of judgment made a bad situation worse. And talk about losing faith, you never had faith in me to begin with."

He looked absolutely incredulous. "You can't seriously believe that"

"I do. You never let me in, never shared everything you knew about Red John or everything you were doing. I told you Lorelei was playing you and you just scoffed. You didn't listen, you went behind my back and broke the law and now I'm the one who has to deal with the consequences. And on top of everything else, you somehow expect me to just magically be able to get control of the case back. You act as if I'm not even trying, while you're the one who caused the situation in the first place. I'm just tired of paying the consequences for your actions."

He took a step closer to her and with an earnest, almost pleading, tone and expression said, "Lisbon, I know you're trying, and I know I made mistakes. I appreciate everything that you do, even if I don't always show it. I really regret the way that my actions have impacted you. You have to believe me. I do trust you. I'm just…I'm just frustrated. And I really am worried about you. Kirkland is not what he appears to be, and I don't want you to get taken in by him. That could be very dangerous for you."

Lisbon appreciated that he was at least trying to give her something resembling an apology. So in return, she gentled her voice in an effort to smooth his ruffled feathers. "I'm not getting taken in by anybody. And I'm not ignoring your warnings about Kirkland. I know that you could be right. But even if you are, we have no proof. You need to relax. I'm not having lunch with him because I've fallen for some act of his. If we're not careful, we could be kicked off this case altogether. This lunch is to try to mend some interagency fences so that we have full access to any new information going forward. I think that will be more productive than being openly hostile to the man, especially if he is working for Red John. It is much better to play along, be civil, and keep an eye on what he does. You know the old saying: keep your friends close, and your enemies closer…It's the only way Jane. We don't have very many options here."

She could see Jane pondering what she had just said. She couldn't tell from his expression if he agreed with her or not. Apparently he either saw the wisdom in what she was saying, or just didn't see the point in arguing about it anymore. "I know," he finally responded. "Just please… be careful."

She nodded. "I will." She turned back to the files on her desk and said, "If we're done here, I have to finish this before my meeting with Bertram in a little while."

"Sure, I'll let you get back to it." He turned and walked out the door.

Lisbon sighed. She didn't know why everything with Jane had to be so difficult. He'd been on good behavior since their talk, at least in terms of being honest and not acting on his own, but clearly he wasn't happy with the situation. She thought everything was going well, and then he blindsides her with this conversation. One minute he is bringing her treats and inviting her to lunch. The next he is upset about Kirkland. It was enough to give her whiplash. And, unless she was completely losing her mind, he had been hitting on her. That particular game was a new one, and she didn't like being played with one bit.

Why couldn't he be straightforward like Reynolds?

XXX

Lisbon got home at a reasonable hour for once. They had not gotten a new case, so she had most of the day to catch up on paper work. After a quick dinner, she sat down to eat more of her chocolates and watch a little TV. She watched the season finale of _The Walking Dead_, and was rather upset when they killed Andrea, one of her favorite characters.

She couldn't help wondering how she and the team would fare in the event of a zombie plague. She figured Jane would be the first to go. His mentalist skills wouldn't help him at all if he was caught by a herd of zombies. She doubted hypnotism would work on them. And it's not like the man had any self-defense skills. Or physical endurance, for that matter. All that time spent lying on a couch would come back to haunt him if society ever collapsed. For some odd reason, that thought actually amused her.

She was interrupted from these silly thoughts when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and then smiled as she answered.

"Hello, Dana."

"Hey, Teresa. What's going on?"

"I was just wondering who among my team would live or die if we ever have a zombie apocalypse."

"Oh, you just watched _The Walking Dead_ finale. So did I. I am so happy they finally killed Andrea."

"What? Andrea was great! She was a strong, kick ass woman who wasn't afraid to speak her mind and tried her best to keep the peace. What was your problem with her?"

"She was an idiot, Teresa. She made one bad decision after another. She could have stopped the Governor. But her emotions got in the way and she ended up dying because of it. And getting poor Milton and Merle killed as well."

"She was trying to save everyone. She couldn't have known what the Governor would do."

"Some people can't be saved, Teresa. Because she was unwilling to let the Governor go, she got some of her people killed. And herself. You know, now that I think about it, there's a lesson for you there."

"I think I know where this is headed. Are you really comparing Jane to a post-apocalyptic psychopath?"

"No, although that might be a good comparison. I'll have to think about that one and get back to you. But I am comparing you to a woman whose soft heart and bad judgment get her and some people she cares about killed, while the man she wanted to save goes on to hurt more people."

"I see your point, but unlike Andrea, I have already taken steps to reign in Jane. I'm not getting taken in by his nonsense anymore. And I know I can't save him. He has to choose life. I can't force him to do it."

"Good for you. So how are things going with Blondie?"

"He's behaving for the most part, but he is acting a little stranger than usual. After avoiding me for weeks, he suddenly switched gears and I am almost positive he was hitting on me this morning. Of course, that was immediately followed by him speaking to me like I was an incompetent idiot. But that's just life working with Jane. I can handle that. As long as he isn't off causing trouble or keeping secrets, I can tolerate his moodiness."

"I couldn't. But I guess that's why they call you Saint Teresa. I don't even think there is a Saint Dana. My parents knew better than to name me after a saint."

"Yes, I'm sure they took one look at you and predicted your unsaintly ways."

Dana laughed, "My dad always says he knew I would be trouble the moment I was born."

"Your father is a wise man and excellent judge of character."

"Oh, he is. But back to Jane for a second. He actually hit on you? Has he ever done that before?"

"He's been flirtatious before, but I never got the feeling there was any actual intent behind it. Jane's flirtatious with almost everyone. It's just a game with him. But this felt different. He gave me a look I never saw before from him. He was trying to convince me to have lunch at the time. Said something about wanting time alone with me and that he missed me. I was sure at the time, but now I don't know. He forgot about the whole thing a minute later, and then avoided me the rest of the day."

"Teresa, the guy just sounds unstable. Be careful with him. I don't want to see you hurt anymore because of him."

Lisbon was touched at Dana's concern. She herself was worried about Jane hurting her again. But she was determined not to let that happen. She had learned from her past mistakes. "Don't worry. I have it under control."

"OK, you're a big girl. I know you can take care of yourself. So on to more pleasant topics, how did the date go Saturday? I almost called you Sunday morning, but I didn't want to interrupt if things had gone well."

"That's very thoughtful of you. Things went well, but not quite that well. I got called in to work toward the end. But I had a great time, and I really like him."

"So are you going to see him again?"

"I hope so. He talked as if we would. And he texted me the next day to say he had a great time and would call me the early part of the week. So I guess I'll know soon enough."

"I'm sure he'll call. Who could resist you? See, aren't you glad you took my advice?"

"Yes, you were right. It is good that I'm making an effort to date more. I realize that now. Though I was so nervous before that date that I wanted to kill you for getting me into the situation."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I was safely out of harm's reach at the time."

"Very funny. But seriously, it was nice to spend a pleasant evening not obsessing about Jane. Although, as much as I like Reynolds, and I really do like him, I now keep comparing him to Jane."

"Teresa, that's normal. You can't expect to get over Jane instantly. You've known the guy for a long time, after all. It's a process."

Lisbon sighed, "I guess you're right."

"So how do the two compare? Other than Jane being unstable and Reynolds presumably being sane."

"It's hard to say. I've only met Reynolds twice, and I've known Jane for nine years. But so far, he is holding his own. I mean he's smart and funny. But so is Jane. He's very confident, but less arrogant than Jane, so that's a plus. They're both playful, just in different ways. Reynolds is really hot. Jane is as well, but they're very different types. Reynolds is taller and has a better body…much more athletic looking. And is a great kisser. I have no idea how Jane kisses, so I can't really compare them on that. Reynolds can't read me as well as Jane, but that may actually be a good thing. But he really pays attention. Do you know he brought me spicy chocolate truffles? He noticed I liked spicy things, so tailored my chocolates based on that?"

"That is a man making an effort. I give him bonus points for that. So are the truffles good?"

"Oh, so good. I've already eaten half the box. I thought about bringing them into the office to share, but I like them too much to let Rigsby eat them all."

"Well save some for me. I'm the one that encouraged you to go out with him, it's only fair that I should get to taste the chocolates."

"You need to visit quickly then. I'm sure they'll be gone by the end of the week."

"Some friend you are. But despite your chocolate hoarding tendencies, I'm happy you're having fun. Reynolds seems like a good guy."

"Yes, but I've only spent a few hours with the man. Who knows what dark secrets lurk beneath the surface."

Dana huffed, "Dark secrets. You've been a cop for too long. Don't assume the worst. Give Reynolds, or any other man you meet for that matter, a fair shot. Keep an open mind, and the rest will take care of itself in time."

"That's what I'm hoping." Lisbon heard the call waiting beep, "Oh, hold on, I have another call."

She switched over to the incoming call. "Hello?"

"Hi, Teresa, it's Reynolds."

Lisbon's heart beat just a little bit faster.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all the reviews! I wrote a scene giving the POVs of the rest of the team. I found them a little harder to write than Lisbon and Jane, so I hope they aren't too out of character. But let me know what you think. Thanks.

* * *

Lisbon's call with Reynolds went really well. They chatted for about a half hour before they made tentative plans for lunch. Luckily, his office was not far from the CBI. Lisbon took a little more care than usual as she got ready for work. She carefully picked out her clothes, took the time to curl her hair, and was extra careful with her makeup. They went to a cute Belgian bistro and shared a pot of mussels. Based on what he had learned about her musical tastes at the jazz club, he gave her a CD he had burned for her with some selections he really liked that Lisbon was not familiar with. It was a sweet and thoughtful gesture.

Spending time with Reynolds felt very natural to her. They got along so well, and effortlessly fell into a flirtatious banter that was in some ways similar to what she used to engage in with Jane. But with Reynolds, she never got the feeling that he was purposely trying to embarrass her like Jane often did. It was a gentler version without the hard edges that came with Jane. As they shared dessert, Reynolds asked her to spend the weekend in Tahoe with him. He had a place there, and this would be his last opportunity to get some skiing in this season. She knew it was a big step. The weekend would involve more than skiing, so if she agreed to go she would be in effect agreeing to take their new relationship to the next level.

Before she could second guess herself, she agreed. An attractive, charming, eligible man wanted to spend the weekend with her. And unlike another man she was trying to get over, this one was emotionally available, had no ulterior motives, and seemed genuinely attracted to her. There was no ring on _her_ finger. As they parted to go back to their offices, he pulled her in for a slow, playful kiss. Lisbon thought she could easily get used to this.

XXX

That afternoon they got a new case. The next few days passed quickly since she was busy. Lisbon didn't have free time to dwell on her love life. She was excited and nervous about her upcoming weekend, but did her best not to obsess over it. She focused on the case at hand, pushing it forward to make sure that nothing would interfere with her weekend plans. Luckily, they solved it Friday morning, and Lisbon spent the rest of the day completing as many of the administrative tasks as possible. She would review the rest of the reports from the team next week. For once, she was unwilling to stay late just to do paperwork. A little after 4:00, she swung by the bull pen to say goodbye to the team. Jane was not there.

"I'm heading out a little early guys. You should feel free to do the same if you like. You all did a great job on the case, so get out of here and enjoy your weekend.'

Van Pelt looked pleasantly surprised, and Rigsby's mouth actually dropped open. Cho just said, "Sounds good. Thanks, Boss" and started to put away the files he was working with.

Van Pelt couldn't help asking, "So are you doing anything special this weekend?"

Lisbon was in such a good mood, she didn't mind sharing some personal details for once. "I'm going to Tahoe for a little late season skiing. That's why I'm heading out now. I want to get there in time for dinner." She didn't tell them _who_ she was going with. That was still a little too much personal information as far as she was concerned. She could tell Van Pelt was dying to ask, but the younger agent managed to control her curiosity.

"That sounds like fun. Have fun, boss."

"Thanks, you too. I'll see you guys Monday."

Rigsby and Cho said goodbye as Lisbon headed down the hall. Once the elevator doors were safely closed, Van Pelt turned to Rigsby and Cho and said, "Who do you think she's going with?"

Rigsby said, "Probably one of her friends. Or maybe she's going alone."

Cho disagreed. As he was shutting down is computer he said, "She's going with the new guy."

"What new guy?" Rigsby asked.

"The one she was out with on Friday night."

"How do you know she was out with anybody on Friday?"

"I smelled men's cologne on her. And her jaw was abraded, probably from stubble."

"I didn't notice any of that", Rigsby replied.

Cho looked at him, "You were distracted by the BBQ place across the street."

Van Pelt was very excited. "So Lisbon has a new man in her life. I wonder who it is? Do you think it's anybody we know? MacDonald from narcotics maybe?"

"No, whatever that was ended months ago," Cho replied.

"Wait, Lisbon was dating MacDonald?" Rigsby seemed shocked.

Van Pelt replied with a smirk, "I don't know if dating is the word I would use. But there was definitely something going on with them."

"Wow, I had no idea. Hey, maybe it's Kirkland. He sticks pretty close to Lisbon when he's around," he suggested.

"Maybe," but Cho looked uncertain. "She gives off mixed signals with him."

Van Pelt couldn't help speculating, "I wonder if Jane knows."

"He realized she had been out with someone Friday."

"How do you know," Van Pelt asked.

"He sniffed her and then left pretty fast looking angry."

Rigsby was confused. "He really sniffed her? Why?"

Cho explained, "To get a better whiff of the men's cologne, so he can compare that scent to other men and figure out who Lisbon was with."

"Oh, I get it." Rigsby was amused. "Hey, just like he has his handshake book, he's probably now started a men's cologne book."

Van Pelt couldn't help laughing at the mental image of Jane scribbling in a book about men's colognes. "We should mess with him and get a bunch of guys in the office to wear a different scent every day. It will drive him crazy."

Cho actually smiled, "That's really evil."

Van Pelt smiled and shrugged. "I have my moments. Do you think he was jealous?" she asked.

"Yes."

Van Pelt seemed intrigued. "I always thought there was something between Jane and Lisbon. I think he's secretly in love with her."

Rigsby was exasperated. "Not this again. He's had nine years. If he loved her, he would have made a move a long time ago. No guy would wait that long if he was in love."

Cho just shot him a look. Rigsby blushed and said very defensively, "Some guys are cautious, but nine years goes way beyond cautious."

He looked back at Van Pelt and continued, "He's just jealous because he doesn't want anybody else taking Lisbon's attention from him."

Van Pelt tried to defend Jane, "That's not really fair. It's not that simple. Jane still carries all the guilt about his family's deaths. That won't let him move on and date another woman until he catches Red John."

Cho wasn't buying it. "He dated Kristina Frye. And slept with Lorelei Martins."

Van Pelt didn't see it quite the same way. "He had one date with Kristina. And he slept with Lorelei to get to Red John."

Rigsby snorted, "What a huge sacrifice." He didn't notice the annoyed look that Van Pelt gave him.

Cho added, "And one date is more than he asked Lisbon for."

Rigsby chimed in with, "And you know what the guys guarding Erica Flynn told everybody…that Jane spent quite a bit of time alone with her in her hotel room. And she gave him a passionate kiss goodbye before she escaped, right in front of Wainwright. I overheard Wainwright and Bertram talking about that. Some people wonder whether Jane helped her escape."

Van Pelt didn't believe that for one second. "There's no way he helped her. She played him. Even Jane can be manipulated on occasion.'

Rigsby couldn't help adding, "Only by beautiful women."

Van Pelt refused to concede her point, "Fine, he was attracted to Erica, and Lorelei and Kristina. But there's a big difference between a passing attraction and love. Maybe he wouldn't take a chance of starting something with Lisbon because he knew he might end up dead or in jail because of Red John. He wouldn't want to do that to her if he really cared about her."

Cho remained unmoved. "If he does love her, he has a hell of a way of showing it. He left her without a word for six months while he did whatever he did in Vegas. He hurt her."

Van Pelt wasn't giving up yet. "I thought you liked Jane."

"I do, but I don't trust him. He's a user. Red John is the most important person in his life. Not us. Not Lisbon. We all need to remember that."

Rigsby grimaced. "That's the truth. You saw how torn up she was while he was in Vegas. If he ever did ask Lisbon out, he would only end up hurting her. She deserves better. I don't want to see her hurt again."

Van Pelt looked sad and defeated. "Maybe you guys are right." She was a romantic at heart and loved the idea of Jane and Lisbon together. She had caught him watching Lisbon longingly when he didn't realize anyone was looking enough times over the years to know he felt something for their boss. But Jane's behavior did seem to be getting more extreme and desperate as time went on. Maybe he was just too damaged to ever genuinely love somebody and put them first.

The thought depressed her, so she changed the topic away from Jane. "Well, I'm just happy for Lisbon. I hope she has a great weekend, whoever she's with. She deserves some happiness."

Cho stood up and grabbed his things. "That I agree with. Alright, I'm out of here. See you guys later."

Rigsby and Van Pelt said goodbye and finished putting away their own things. The chance to leave early on a Friday didn't happen all that often. They were going to take advantage of it.

XXX

Patrick Jane was frustrated. He wanted to spend some time with Lisbon and convince her to have dinner with him, but Lisbon and the rest of the team left while he was out replenishing his tea supply.

He had tried to repair his relationship with Lisbon a few days ago, and instead he made things worse. He had hoped a nice, relaxed, subtly romantic lunch would smooth things over and give him a chance to start laying the groundwork for telling her how he felt about her…before this other man could get any closer to her. He bought her one of her favorite treats and actually tried to ask her out. Not only did she shoot him down…which was bad enough…she didn't even acknowledge that he was flirting with her. Lisbon's poker face had gotten much better. While something certainly flashed in her eyes when he told her he wanted to be alone with her, he had no idea what it was. She just calmly said she had other plans. Could she have not realized he was asking for a date? He was out of practice. Other than the Kristina Frye debacle, he hadn't asked a woman out in over 20 years.

Things got worse when he reacted badly that Kirkland was the one who got to have lunch with her instead of him. His reaction was part fear that she would be in danger, part anger that on top of killing his only Red John lead Kirkland also had to interfere with his Lisbon plans, and part jealousy that she was having lunch with another man. He shouldn't have lost his temper. He tried to smooth it over, but the damage was done. He had no choice but to retreat and try another day.

Since then he couldn't stop obsessing and wondering if Kirkland was the one Lisbon was with Friday night. Coffee and lunch within a week of each other? Was that really necessary for professional reasons? He was probably being paranoid. Lisbon did call Kirkland odd, after all. But could she have done that to hide her true feelings from him? This had been weighing on him the entire week. Next time he saw Kirkland, he would find out if he wore the same cologne Lisbon's date had. That would be the only way to rule Kirkland out and ease his mind.

After his failed attempt to ask Lisbon to lunch, they were kept so busy with the case that he hadn't had a chance to fix things with her. The weekend ahead seemed like an eternity to Jane. He wanted to get to work on making Lisbon his. The seduction of Teresa Lisbon was his new top priority.

XXX

Lisbon woke to the feeling of a warm hand caressing her stomach and hip and an even warmer pair of lips trailing wet kisses down her neck. She felt the front of Reynolds' body pressed up against the back of hers and realized that despite making love three times the night before, he was clearly ready for round four.

"Mmmm, what a great way to wake up." She tried to turn around in his arms, but he held her in place.

"Oh, no you don't. I plan to take this very slowly, and I can't do that when you start being all touchy-feely."

Lisbon laughed a throaty laugh and observed, "You didn't seem to mind my "touchy-feeliness" at any point last night. It's not my fault if you have no self-control."

She felt him smile against her neck as one of his hands moved up to cup her breast. "On the contrary, it is_ entirely_ your fault that I have no self-control. You're much too good at this. And we haven't even gotten to the handcuffs yet."

"You and those handcuffs. If you're a very good boy, maybe I'll consider cuffing you sometime soon."

"A good boy? Now, now, Agent Lisbon, and here I thought it was the bad boys that got cuffed. I have some serious concerns about what exactly they are teaching in the police academy these days."

Lisbon laughed, "We just shoot the really bad ones. We don't bother cuffing them because they all have shady lawyers who get them off."

"Everyone blames the lawyers. Lucky for you, Teresa, you can be as bad as you like. You've got your very own shady lawyer right here, ready and eager to get you off."

Lisbon laughed, "Cute pun. But can you do anything other than talk? So far this morning you've been all talk and no action."

"All talk?" With that he gently bit her neck, causing Lisbon to squirm helplessly against him. "Are you always so demanding within three minutes of waking up?

"Yes," Lisbon responded without hesitation.

"Good to know." He rolled her onto her back and held both of her wrists down with one hand. He gave her a long, languid kiss that left her breathless. He then resumed his wet kisses, slowly working his way down her body.

"Maybe I'll be the one to cuff you. You would like that, wouldn't you?" he asked.

Lisbon was finding it increasingly hard to concentrate as his mouth continued to roam all over her body.

"Maybe," she sighed.

"I think you would. And if you're a very bad girl, you might get your wish. But for right now, I have something a little different in mind."

And after one more kiss to her belly, he slid further down her body and went about proving once again that he was a man of action.


	8. Chapter 8

This chapter is a little shorter than usual. To compensate (at least I hope it does!) I should have the next chapter up in a couple of days. I leave you with a bit of a cliff hanger in this one. But not to worry, I'll pick up right where this leaves off.

* * *

Patrick Jane was bored. The day had been very quiet so far. Apparently all the murderers had taken the day off, leaving the team to their own devices. Cho was deeply engrossed in his latest book, Rigsby was surfing the net reading up on the players drafted by the 49ers, and Grace was industriously catching up on her filing and organizing her desk. He had already taken his mid-morning nap and now had nothing to do. Lisbon had been tied up in a team leader meeting to go over new policies and procedures for something of no importance that Jane planned to just ignore anyway. He had only caught a brief glimpse of her this morning, and she seemed unusually happy considering she was going to be busy most of the day with administrative nonsense.

He went to make a fresh cup of tea, and sat down on his sofa when he returned. He might as well make good use of his time and do a little reconnaissance. Without looking up, he said to no one in particular, "We never had our closed case pizza on Friday."

As expected, Rigsby immediately looked up from his computer screen. "Oh, yeah, you're right. I guess when Lisbon let us leave early, we forgot all about it. Hey, we should do it tomorrow instead."

"Really, she let us go early? I wish somebody had told me we were done for the day. You were all just gone when I got back to the office."

Van Pelt looked up with a guilty look on her face. "You weren't around. We had no idea when you would be back. And it was already after 4:00."

Cho, on the other hand, did not look guilty at all. "You live in the attic and come and go as you please. What difference does permission to leave early make?"

Jane bristled at that characterization. "I don't live in the attic. I just use it as a quiet space when I need to concentrate."

Cho just returned to his book.

Jane immediately got back on topic. "So what was the special occasion? Why did our fierce little taskmaster let us out early?"

Rigsby supplied the requested information. "She was headed to Tahoe for some skiing and wanted to get there in time for dinner."

Jane's eyebrows shot up. This was not a good development. If she was spending romantic weekends in Tahoe with the mystery guy, then this was clearly more than a meaningless fling. Things were moving quickly. Who was this guy, and how the hell did he all of a sudden find his way into Lisbon's life? It couldn't be Kirkland. Lisbon had better taste than that. Besides, he couldn't picture Kirkland on skis. Jane realized he might no longer have the luxury of implementing the slow, elaborate seduction Lisbon deserved. Jane grimaced. Due to time constraints the direct approach might be necessary, and that really wasn't his style.

"Tahoe? I didn't know Lisbon skied. Interesting." He casually took a sip of his tea before saying, "Did she mention who she was going with?"

Cho and Van Pelt exchanged a glance Jane didn't notice before Van Pelt said, "Well, she didn't say, but we think it must be with the new guy she is dating."

"Ah, of course."

Rigsby looked uncertain. "You know about him?"

Jane just shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, I know a little, but you know how Lisbon is with her personal life. If she didn't tell you, we probably shouldn't talk about it."

He didn't fool Cho. "You don't know anything. If you did, you wouldn't be probing us for information."

Jane was annoyed. As much as he appreciated Cho's no-nonsense style and his perceptiveness, there were times that he really wished Cho was more like Rigsby. In clipped tones he replied, "I'm _not_ probing. I'm just making conversation. It's not like we have any work to do at the moment."

Van Pelt just smiled. She couldn't help wondering if a little competition might make Jane reconsider his priorities and make a move. She decided to give him a little nudge to find out. She lowered her voice and said in a very conspiratorial tone, "I don't know who he is. But it seems like she had a great time with him. She came in this morning with a sly little smile and she was actually humming! It must have been some weekend."

"Humming? Yes, well I suppose it _was_ some weekend. Time for more tea." And with that, Jane got up and left the bullpen.

"See," Cho waited until Jane was out of hearing range and then said to the other two agents, "I told you he was jealous."

XXX

Lisbon was stretched out on her sofa watching TV. She really didn't understand why she bothered paying for cable. She had over 100 channels, and none of them had anything remotely interesting to watch. How was that even possible? Due to the lack of interesting programming, her mind kept wandering to Reynolds. The weekend had been perfect... the best she'd had in years. Good skiing (not that they did much of that), great food, and fantastic sex. It had been exactly what she needed. When Reynolds dropped her off at home last night, she went straight to bed and woke up refreshed and ready to face the week. He texted her this morning to tell her he was thinking of her, and she couldn't help smiling whenever she thought of him. She wasn't sure where things were headed, but for once she was happy to just relax and enjoy the moment.

She was contemplating calling it an early night and heading to bed when there was a knock at her door. She looked through the peephole to see Jane standing there. She had actually managed not to think about him the entire weekend. Of course once she got home, she couldn't help wondering what it would be like to spend such a weekend with him. That was not a direction she wanted her thoughts to go in, and she had shut it down quickly. Thoughts like that brought too many complications, and she was making such good progress in getting her life back on a healthier track.

She was not happy with Jane just showing up on her doorstep late at night. She toyed with the idea of not answering the door, but her lights were on so she knew he would probably just pick her lock if she didn't let him in.

She opened the door. "Jane, it's late. What are you doing here?" It wasn't exactly a warm welcome.

He looked at her and gave her a warm and hopeful smile, "I needed to see you. If you invite me in and offer me some tea, I'll tell you why." He looked like a mischievous little boy with a secret, and she found herself softening and unable to say no.

"OK, but I'm only letting you in because there is nothing good on TV, so you'd better have something important or entertaining to say, otherwise I might get a little grumpy." She opened the door wider and stood aside to let him in.

Jane gave her one of his genuinely amused smiles. "You, grumpy? I can't imagine such a thing. But I'll consider myself warned."

She smiled in return and gestured toward the sofa, "Have a seat. I'll get the tea." As she walked to the kitchen, she couldn't help wondering what he was doing here. He was difficult to read, and although she had gotten much better at it over the years, she decided not to even try to guess. It was late, and she figured this would go much faster if she just let him say whatever it is he wanted to say. When the tea was ready she brought it over to him and sat down next to him.

"So what's so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?" She decided there was no point in beating around the bush. The direct approach is sometimes best.

Jane looked at her for a few seconds with an expression she couldn't interpret. A number of different emotions flashed in his eyes too quickly for her to interpret any of them. He seemed nervous or excited…she couldn't tell which. Just when she was about to prompt him, he seemed to reach some decision. He put his tea cup down on the coffee table. "This," he said. He reached over to hold her face in both his hands, leaned in and kissed her.


End file.
